PREVIEW: ALBION V MANCHESTER CITY

Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Manchester City to the Amex on Saturday evening, in what will be a momentous day for the club, as the Seagulls play their first-ever game in the Premier League.

Chris Hughton’s new-look squad, which includes a number of summer signings, will come up against the 2012 and 2014 Premier League champions, led by former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola.

After joining from PSV Eindhoven on Monday, Davy Propper could make his first appearance for Seagulls, while Izzy Brown, Markus Suttner, Pascal Gross and Mathew Ryan are also available to make their league debut.

Anthony Knockaert and Glenn Murray both featured for Albion’s under-23s in midweek, as the pair collected valuable game time before this weekend’s long-awaited Premier League opener.

Hughton has two injuries to the squad ahead of the club's first game in the Premier League, with Sam Baldock still sidelined after having surgery on his calf this summer, and Beram Kayal expected to be out for up to 12 weeks after sustaining a small fracture to his fibula.

Manchester City are likely to be without Ilkay Gundogan, who damaged a cruciate ligament in December, but the midfielder is closing in on a return from injury.

New signings Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Ederson, Danilo and Bernardo Silva could all make their league debuts after moving to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

PRE-SEASON FORM:

ALBION: The Seagulls opened their pre-season schedule with three consecutive away victories, as they started with a 2-0 success against Fortuna Dusseldorf in Austria, with Tomer Hemed and Jamie Murphy on the scoresheet.

March added to his pre-season tally with two brilliant strikes against Southend United at Roots Hall, before Glenn Murray added a third to round off a 3-0 victory.

Back-to-back away draws followed, with Gross scoring in a 1-1 stalemate against Norwich City, before Albion played out a goalless draw against La Liga newcomers Girona in Spain.

Albion’s pre-season preparations ended with a narrow defeat against the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid at the Amex, with Gross and Steve Sidwell scoring equalising goals, before the Spaniards scored late on to win 3-2.

MAN CITY: The Blues came up against three Premier League rivals throughout pre-season and recorded an impressive victory over the back-to-back Champions League winners Real Madrid.

Guardiola’s team began their pre-season with a 2-0 defeat to arch rivals Manchester United in Houston, but 17-year-old Phil Foden made quite an impression as he delivered a mature performance in midfield.

City bounced back with a stunning 4-1 triumph over Madrid in Los Angeles, as goals from Nicolas Otamendi, Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Brahim Diaz led them to a first International Champions Cup victory.

Stones, Sterling and Diaz were all on the scoresheet again when City overcame Premier League opponents Tottenham Hotspur, before travelling to Iceland to seal another 3-0 win, but this time over West Ham United.

Sterling found the back of the net for a third consecutive game, with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus notching their first goals of pre-season, before City turned their attentions to Saturday’s fixture at the Amex.

The Argentinian striker joined City from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and has scored 169 goals in 253 appearances for the Manchester club.

Aguero has been prolific since moving to the Premier League, with arguably his most-memorable moment coming in 2012, when his 94th-minute goal against Queens Park Rangers snatched the league title out of Manchester United’s grasp.

The forward has scored 20 Premier League goals or more in each of the last three seasons, with his 26-goal tally earning him the Golden Boot award for the 2014/15 season.

It was spirited, it was gallant and it was all to play for until the closing stages of the game, but Brighton & Hove Albion’s Premier League debut ended in defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

Pitted against the title favourites, who boast an array of world-class talent, it says much for the Seagulls’ endeavour that it took 70 minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock through Sergio Aguero, with a Lewis Dunk own goal putting the game out of reach soon after.

The pre-game statistics certainly made for interesting reading; the City starting line-up boasting 1,199 Premier League games between them, the Albion just seven.

It really was a case of Chris Hughton’s men entering the unknown against a side who lived up to their pre-match billing, dominating possession and dictating the pace of the game.

Inevitably, they created the first chance when Kyle Walker got to the byline, but his low cross was, uncharacteristically, miscued by Aguero. Gabriel Jesus also had joy down the right flank moments later, but Shane Duffy made a vital interception.

Maty Ryan would have gained confidence having held on to a dipping Kevin de Bruyne free-kick, but with 77 per cent of the possession in the opening quarter of an hour, the tone was set: defence versus attack, and a test of how the Albion rearguard could handle whatever came their way.

Chris Hughton was forced into a change in the 24th minute when Izzy Brown suffered a hamstring injury - to be replaced by Jamie Murphy - and although it was frustrating to see the Chelsea loanee leave the pitch after his promising start, it gave everyone in blue and white a chance to catch their breath.

The pattern of play was restored soon after, however, and the ball was in the back of the Albion net on 27 minutes when Gabriel Jesus got in behind Lewis Dunk, only to use his hand to guide the ball past the Ryan. A collision with the Albion keeper left the Brazilian needing attention and to rub further salt into the wounds, he was cautioned by referee Michael Oliver for his actions.

Jesus then had a guilt-edged chance to break the deadlock on 33 minutes when he connected with Aguero’s dinked cross, but Ryan pulled off a superb reflex save and the City striker then hit his rebound against the post.

Yet Albion stood strong, stayed organised, and with Solly March willing to carry the ball from deep and Dale Stephens’ searching balls looking to hit the pace of runners Pascal Gross and Murphy, the game was scoreless at the break.

Duffy, alongside Dunk, had a heroic opening half but an under-hit backpass by the Irishman shortly after the break let in Aguero, only for the City striker to screw his effort wide with just Ryan to beat.

Albion immediately broke forward and a superb, pin-point cross from Markus Suttner was met by Davy Propper, but Danilo sent the ball out for a corner. The resulting centre ended with Duffy’s shot on the turn deflecting away for a corner, while Dunk’s low effort skimmed narrowly wide after Ederson had flapped at another ball into his six-yard box.

City had appeals for a penalty waved away when De Bruyne’s shot struck the arm of Dunk; but the visitors were all smiles in the 70th minute when a sweeping move involving the Belgian and David Silva saw the ball fall into the path of Aguero, who swept home from close range.

It was two soon after when Fernandinho crossed from the right for Jesus, only for Dunk to unfortunately steer his header past Ryan. It effectively ended the game as a contest but Albion would have taken plenty from the 90 minutes; they were in the game for long periods and will head to Leicester next weekend with plenty of heart.